Allah alternates the night and the day. Indeed in that is a lesson for those who have vision.

(Surah An-Nur: 44)

The phenomenon of day and night is described beautifully in Quran, and has been mentioned who will be able to get lesson from it. It shows that succession of day and night requires to ponder upon, and secondly these are the signs of Allah subhana’watalah, that how Great is the Lord, may He be exalted.

The word يُقَلِّبُ is from the root word ق ل ب, it means to flip, alternate or change something from one condition to another, or a thing change from one state to another. It is used as verb in this ayah, that Allah alternates or Allah causes the day and night to succeed each other. The word قلب also used in Quran for heart, because state of heart is also different at different times in different circumstances. It is the complete change, so when day comes, the darkness of night completely remove. And as the night comes, it covers up the whole brightness with darkness. This shift of day and night doesn’t happen accidently, there is a power behind it, which is alternating it. Allah is the One Who is controlling that by His Command, Power, Might and Knowledge. So that He takes something from the length of one and adds it to the other, which is short, until they become equal, then He does the opposite so that the one which was short becomes long and vice versa.

The word نَھَر is the opposite of word لَیل , the day time begins from the sunrise and ends with sunset. It is divided into 12 hours. While a whole day is of 24 hours, starts from the sunset and ends at the sunset of next day. Time and age are calculated with the days.

As per science, the Earth takes 24 hours to make one complete turn. We have day and night because the Earth rotates. It spins on its axis, which is an imaginary line passing through the North and South Poles. The Earth spins slowly all the time, but we don’t feel any movement because it turns smoothly and at the same speed.

The changing lengths of days and nights depends on your location on Earth and the time of year. Ultimately, these fluctuations are due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis and its path around the sun.

Lesson in alteration of Day and Night:

It is understood that day and night are made with purpose. Constant shining of sun increases temperature of the air, bums living creatures, and mentally wearies the men, but when the darkness of night comes after this shining, it alters it totally. Allah reminds us of the great signs that He created, including the alternation of the night and day, so that people may rest at night, and go out and earn a living, do their work, and travel during the day, and so that they may know the number of days, weeks, months and years, so they will know the appointed times for paying debts, doing acts of worship, dealing with transactions and so on.

إِنَّ فِى ذلِكَ لَعِبْرَةً لأُوْلِى الاٌّبْصَر

The gradual changes of day and night, which is the factor of formation of four seasons, play an important role in the growth of plants, the life of all living creatures, the descending of rain, and storing water in the ground. The sun is also sign of day and moon is the sign of night.

Then in the 2nd part Allah subhana’watalah said, these signs are for those who have sight. It points to the sight of heart, eman (faith) not to the eyes. These are proofs of Tawhid for the people of understanding, sound comprehension and vision. They contemplate about Allah’s wisdom, decisions and decree, that nothing is made useless or randomly.

May Allah subhana’watalah bless us with bright vision, sound understanding of deen and true emaan that we obey His decree and wisdom Ameen.

Do you not see that Allah drives clouds? Then He brings them together, then He makes them into a mass, and you see the rain emerge from within it. And He sends down from the sky, mountains [of clouds] within which is hail, and He strikes with it whom He wills and averts it from whom He wills. The flash of its lightning almost takes away the eyesight.

(Surah An-Nur: 43)

Water is the main ingredient for life. All living things, from tiny microscopic creature to huge whales, need water to survive. They consume it in different ways and in different quantity. Rainfall is a natural source of water, and fortunately it is renewable, a big blessing of Allah subhana’watalah. This ayah explains the complete process of rain. Let’s break the ayah to understand the process in detail, it ll be divided in the sequence that is explained by Allah swt:

Formation of Clouds:

It is further sub-divided into following stages:

Gentle driving of Clouds:

اللَّهَ يُزْجِى سَحَاباً

Allah drives clouds

اللہ ہی بادلوں کو چلاتا ہے

The word سحاب is from root word س ح ب , means clouds which are carried and spread along by winds on sky. Generally it is the initial stage of all kinds of clouds. This is called “gentle driving”. Allah tells us that He drives the clouds from the beginning, when they are formed and are still weak. So the wind play primary role in their movement.

ثُمَّ يَجْعَلُهُ رُكَاماً

then He makes them into a mass

پھر ان کو تہ بہ تہ کردیتا ہے

The word رُکاما is from the root word ر ک م, it means piling up on top of one another. So the clouds heaped up in layers and become a massive cloud. When the clouds join together, their updrafts (upward movement) increase in the center, so it allows clouds to stack up vertically, due to which updraft remain weak on the edges. Cumulonimbus, from the Latin cumulus (“heap”) and nimbus (“rainstorm”, “storm cloud”), is a dense towering vertical cloud.

How Rain is produced:

فَتَرَى الْوَدْقَ يَخْرُجُ مِنْ خِلاَلِهِ

and you see the rain emerge from within it

پھر تم دیکھتے ہو کہ بادل میں سے مینہ نکل (کر برس) رہا ہے

The word الودَق means the rain, it is from root word ودق, it is the pouring rain, that occurs slowly but continuously for long time. Cumulonimbus clouds often produce intense rain, a heavy downpour. Compare dropping a feather to the dust particle. The dust particle take longer then the feather to reach the surface of ground, and even slightest movement of air can suspend it. But as the water particles that surround salt crystals and dust particles thicken together and form raindrops, the drops that become heavier than the air leave the clouds and start to fall to the ground.

يَخْرُجُ مِنْ خِلاَلِهِ means, from the gaps between them (clouds). This is how it was understood by Ibn `Abbas and Ad-Dahhak. `Ubayd bin `Umayr Al-Laythi said: “Allah sends the scatterer (wind), which stirs up that which is on the surface of the earth. Then he sends the generator (wind), which forms the clouds. Then He sends the joiner (wind) which brings them together. Then He sends the fertilizer (wind) which fertilizes or `seeds’ the clouds.” This was recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Jarir. [1]

How Hail and Snow are produced:

وَيُنَزِّلُ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مِن جِبَالٍ فِيهَا مِن بَرَدٍ

The word جبلmeans mountain, and it’s from root word ج ب ل, its plural is جِبال. Any kind of mountain whether small, huge, high or low. In a similarlar way, the word بردmeans coolness or hail, its root word is ب ر د According to grammarians, there would be 2 meanings for the word جِبال in this ayah. Some says mountains here is used as metaphor for clouds while other thinks مِن that is used after جبال describe the place from which hail/ice is coming[2] . And Allah knows best.

Hail, can only form in thunderstorms or Cumulonimbus clouds. Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from sleet, though the two are often confused for one another. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone [1].When raindrops move due to strong updrafts (upward movements) well above freezing level, they change into hailstone. Eventually when hailstones become too heavy for updrafts to support, they fall on the ground.

Hail and snow are formed by different processes and thus look quite different, although both are composed of ice.

Are the rain and hail blessings always?

When Quran mentions the clouds, rainfall, hail and His other favours, it also mentions what issues they could cause. It is stated as:

فَيُصِيبُ بِهِ مَن يَشَآءُ وَيَصْرِفُهُ عَن مَّن يَشَآءُ

and He strikes with it whom He wills and averts it from whom He wills.

تو جس پر چاہتا ہے اس کو برسا دیتا ہے اور جس سے چاہتا ہے ہٹا دیتا ہے۔

It means, with what He sends down from the sky of different kinds of rain and hail, it is His mercy towards them, and if He wills He can withholds those blessings or hidden harm of those blessings could afflict the earth and its living beings. As we know, rain is generally consider as blessing for Earth, specially to produce more greenery and fruits. But too much good is sometime effect adversely. Excessive rain can cause diseases, flood, hygiene issues for animals, plants and humans. Similarly, hail takes off the blossom of fruits and plants, severe hail storms are also safety hazards for lives. As per ayah, rain and hail could strike as a punishment and destroy their crops, fruits, houses. But He averts it from whomever He wills as a mercy towards them or make it a blessing for them and they get benefits out of it.

This shows the ultimate of His Power and the Magnificence, where He sets harm and benefit, as well as death and life of men beside each other and even He has interwoven them.

What causes Lightning?

In the end of ayah, another beautiful phenomenon is described.

يَكَادُ سَنَا بَرْقِهِ يَذْهَبُ بِالاٌّبْصَـرِ

The flash of its lightening almost takes away the eyesight.

The word برق is from root word ب ر ق and it means lightning. The Ayah tell us that clouds have lightning, the vivid flash nearly blinds the sight. If the eyes follow it and try to look at it the intensity of its lightning almost takes away their sight. It draws attention to the connection of the precipitation with the flash of lightning along with the downfall of rain and hailstones.

As per scientists, lightning is a bright flash of electricity produced by a thunderstorm clouds. When they meet, the warm air goes up. It makes thunderstorm clouds. The cold air has ice crystals. The warm air has water droplets. During the storm, the droplets and crystals bump together and move apart in the air. This rubbing makes static electrical charges in the clouds. Just like a battery, these clouds have a “plus” end and a “minus” end. The plus, or positive, charges in the cloud are at the top. The minus, or negative, charges are at the bottom. When the charge at the bottom gets strong enough, the cloud lets out energy. Have you ever rubbed your feet across carpet and then touched a metal door handle? If so, then you know that you can get shocked. Lightning works in the same way.

Quran Miracles and Science:

Meteorologists have only recently come to know the details of cloud formation, structure, and function by using advanced equipment like planes, satellites, computers, balloons, etc. These facts were explored in the Noble Quran more than 1400 years ago. No doubt Quran is a divine book and it is sent from Allah subhana’watallah to mankind for his guidance. It has all the modern science facts, even those which are not discovered by human intelligence. And the reason is human intelligence has no comparison with the miraculous revelation of Lord, Who has created everything.

One has to understand that all the signs of Allah are in front of us, but without the faith and true conviction we are unable to see with our eyes.

Ayat ul Nur is in the middle of all the social laws in the surah because unless the eeman is there , these laws do not mean anything. People will not value them. Let’s break down the ayah for clear understanding:

1-Allahu nooru alssamawati waal-ardi

﴿اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ﴾

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.

اللہ آسمانوں اور زمین کا نور ہے۔

It means by His Light the heavens and earth are illuminated. In the Two Sahihs, it is recorded that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “When the Messenger of Allah got up to pray at night, he would say:

“O Allah, to You be praise, You are the Sustainer of heaven and earth and whoever is in them. To You be praise, You are the Light of the heavens and the earth and whoever is in them”.

This means that Allah is the means by which the heavens and the earth can be seen for what they really are. Light is the means by which you can see. Without Allah, you will still see the skies and the earth but not what they actually are.
Without light, you can’t see things for what they truly are. That is the bottom line of this ayah. When you have the faith of Allah in your heart, then you can understand the universe and the things around you for what it really is.

2. Mathalu Noorihi Kamishkatin feeha Misbahun:

﴿مَثَلُ نُورِهِ كَمِشْكَاةٍ﴾

The parable (example) of His Light is as a niche

اس کے نور کی مثال ایسی ہے کہ گویا ایک طاق ہے

There are two views concerning the meaning of the pronoun (His). The first is that it refers to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, meaning that the parable of His guidance in the heart of the believer is as a niche. This was the view of Ibn `Abbas.

The second view is that the pronoun refers to the believer, which is indicated by the context of the words and implies that the parable of the light in the heart of the believer is as a niche. So the heart of the believer and what he is naturally inclined to of guidance and what he learns of the Qur’an which is in accordance with his natural inclinations.

فِيهَا مِصْبَاحٌ

and within it a lamp.

جس میں چراغ ہے۔

The example is made a distant close hence the it is described as something like a niche because the light of Allah can not be fathomed, Allah gives us an distant example to help us understand something of it. This is just to give us an idea, what humans can handle.
Now let us talk about this niche,In old homes, they used to have an Indent on the wall shaped like an arch, this was the place where they would put a lamp. It was shaped like that so that the light would hit it and reflect to the entire roomMisbah comes from subr which means morning. It literally means a tool to make it seem like morning. Ubayy bin Ka`b said, “The lamp is the light, and this refers to the Qur’an and the faith that is in his heart.”

الْمِصْبَاحُ فِى زُجَاجَةٍ الزُّجَاجَةُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ دُرِّىٌّ

It means light is shining in a clear glass. Ubayy bin Ka`b and others said, “This is the likeness of the heart of the believer.” The reflection of a glass that is so sparkling and clean that it has a star-like effect to it when you look at it. The twinkle effect of a glass. Hmm! So the lamp itself, flameless, is almost lighting up on its own. It’s pearly white, clean, pure.

5. la Sharqiyyatin wala Gharbiyyatin:

لاَّ شَرْقِيَّةٍ وَلاَ غَرْبِيَّةٍ

neither of the east nor of the west

کہ نہ مشرق کی طرف ہے نہ مغرب کی طرف۔

It means, Olive tree is not in the eastern part of the land so that it does not get any sun in the first part of the day, nor is it in the western part of the land so that it is shaded from the sun before sunset, but it is in a central position where it gets sun from the beginning of the day until the end, so its oil is good and pure and shining. This is the best kind of oil. When the sun rises it reaches the tree from the east and when it sets it reaches it from the west, so the sun reaches it morning and evening, so it is not counted as being in the east or in the west.

6. Yakadu Zaytuha Yudee-o walaw lam tamsas-hu Narun:

يَكَادُ زَيْتُهَا يُضِىءُ وَلَوْ لَمْ تَمْسَسْهُ نَارٌ

whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself), though no fire touched it

Ever seen gasoline light up??, Allah describes the oil as one that runs after the flame, highly flammable kind of Oil. Fire has not touched it yet and it is still about to light up. Even if you didn’t put the light in, it has a shine itself, then the light comes and it lights up immediately. It doesn’t take it anytime. It also means the oil itself is shining.

8- yahdee Allahu linoorihi man yashao:

يَهْدِى اللَّهُ لِنُورِهِ مَن يَشَآءُ

Allah guides to His Light whom He wills.

اللہ نور سے جس کو چاہتا ہے سیدھی راہ دکھاتا ہے۔

It means, Allah shows the way to the ones whom He chooses, as it says in the Hadith recorded by Imam Ahmad from `Abdullah bin `Amr, who said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:

“Allah created His creation in darkness, then on the same day He sent His Light upon them. Whoever was touched by His Light on that day will be guided and whoever was missed will be led astray. Hence I say: the pens have dried in accordance with the knowledge of Allah, may He be glorified.”

And Allah sets forth parables for mankind, and Allah is All-Knower of everything.

Having mentioned this parable of the Light of His guidance in the heart of the believer, Allah ends this Ayah with the above words and He knows best who deserves to be guided and who deserves to be led astray. May Allah swt keep us in the people of guidance who remain under His mercy and love always ameen Ya Rabul alameen.

This chapter, Surah An-Nur contains verses which outline the criminal code for fornication, adultery, accusations of adultery without proof, and slander. There are also guidelines for both men and women regarding personal modesty.

A general rule was established that relations among Muslims should be based on good faith, not suspicion and spying. Norms of personal privacy were established, while encouraging good relationships among relatives, friends and neighbors. These guidelines helped to reunite the community, establish clear limits, yet in a spirit of mutual affection and sincerity.

The section ends with additional reminders about the “signs” of Allah’s creation, the miracles in everyday life, which should strengthen our faith.

Surah An Noor 1 to 64

[24:2] A great test in your emaan is to check yourself in your ‘opinion’ about the laws of Allah – also regarding punishment of crimes. Do you feel aversion to it or do you accept it and see the wisdom behind it? Your belief in Allah is not complete if you don’t accept the rules in punishments for certain deeds.

[24:4] Accusing chaste women of things they never did is a grave sin! Even sisters do this amongst each other by bringing fake stories about persons they don’t like into the world, may Allah protect us all from doing this and being victim of this.

[24:15] Don’t just receive news with your tongue rather than your ears – ie think about something you hear instead of hastening to repeat it whether you verified the truth or not. How many relationships have been broken and people have become depressed because of others spreading stories?

[24:11-20] Read the background and tafseer of these ayaat…it speaks of Aishah’s (radiAllahu anha) story. The lesson we learn from this story is that when we are hit by a problem or face false blames from the people, we have to be very patient. We should be strong and not be angry or very defensive or abusive. Just have to be patient and seek help and justice from Allah.

[24:21] Slandering an innocent chaste woman of immorality is a very big sin. Stay away from it even if what you think is true. Allah and His prophet also don’t like those who talk a lot.
Prophet (ﷺ) said,

“A person utters a word thoughtlessly (i.e., without thinking about its being good or not) and, as a result of this, he will fall down into the fire of Hell deeper than the distance between the east and the west.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

[24:22] Whenever you are angry with someone, eg a relative, and you find it hard to forgive them, just think: would you not like it that Allah should forgive you? When you forgive, you are the winner!

[24:24] How many times have you told ‘white lies’ to get out of a certain situation or for people not to find out certain things? On the Day of Judgement your mouth will be sealed and your limbs will bear witness to all you said and did.

[24:27] When you enter your house say “Assalamu Alaykum”! How many times do we just enter without saying the salaam to our family or children?

[24:28] When you go to someone’s house and no one responds to the door (knock max three times) – then leave, this is the right of the occupants in case they are not prepared to receive visitors and this should be respected!

[24:30] Not only men but also women should lower their gaze! When you see billboards with half-naked models etc you should look away instead of inspecting the lovely dress she is wearing. Instead how many even buy magazines full of people revealing their awrah (parts of the body which should be covered) for the sake of fashion and trends; have we become blind?

[24:31] Ask Allah truly and sincerely to give you proper understand of what a hijaab is and above all to help you apply this in your daily wear. Hijaab is not just a headcover nor it’s a tight-fitting long dress – study the conditions of the hijaab. And also, know who are your mahram and non-mahram – how many say ‘o it’s ok, he’s just my cousin, I don’t have to cover for him!’ In this ayah you’ll find exactly for who you don’t have to cover- which means to all the rest you should. Please read: Precious, Hidden and Protected

[24:37] Business, work and daily chores do not stop believers from Zikr, praying on time and giving zakah.

[24:40] Ask Allah An-Noor to give you light in this life and light in the next and light to be able to cross the siraat to Paradise!

[24:43] Look at all the different clouds and remember Allah, who drives the clouds and makes them into different shapes. Can you then help yourself from not being amazed by His perfect power?

[24:52] SUCCESS CODE: “And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger and fears Allah and is conscious of Him – it is those who are the attainers.”

[24:58] Teach your children (under the age of puberty) to ask permission to enter your room before the fajr prayer, at noon and after the night prayer because these are times of privacy for you.